A ''Tamborillero'' crosses a street during El Dia Grande, the main day of the San Sebastian feasts, in the Basque city of San Sebastian. Normally, companies of uniformed marchers would parade through the streets in honor of the city's namesake, but rain canceled much of this year's celebration, including a march by more than 4,000 drummers.

A member of Christian rights group Release International wears makeup and a funeral veil as she takes part in a protest outside the North Korean Embassy calling for personal and religious freedom in that country.

A scavenger sniffs the content in a bottle as he sorts plastic at the Bordo Poniente garbage dump. Some 6,000 tons of garbage a day were deposited at the dump for about 25 years until it was closed by the government last month. The dump has been considered as one of the main sources of greenhouse gases in Mexico.

Sledders, skiers, snowboarders and pedestrians take over a snow-covered street in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle on Wednesday. By Thursday morning, the winter wonderland had turned into a frigid nightmare, with sheets of ice covering western Washington.

Mountain rescuer Thomas Merkel and his rescue dog, Jessy, look for a potential avalanche victim in a snow cave near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, during a drill of the local Mountain Rescue Services. Heavy snowfall in the Alps region the last few days has increased the threat of avalanches.

A rescuer is lowered onto the cruise liner Costa Concordia aground in front of the harbor of Giglio Island after hitting underwater rocks Jan. 13. Emergency workers fear that the ship could slip from its resting place on a rocky shelf and slip into deeper waters.

Divers of the Italian paramilitary Carabinieri police work near the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship off the coast of Giglio Island. A magistrate in Italy has said she ordered the house arrest of the ship's captain because there is a risk he may repeat his "criminal conduct."

Police officers detain a man wearing a grim reaper costume who tried to take part in an unauthorized stage protest outside the Interior Ministry headquarters in Moscow. The sign on the protester's chest reads: Corruption.

An Orthodox Christian monk holds a cross at Ure Kidane Mihret monastery at Lake Tana in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Ethiopian monks and priests are preparing for the annual festival of Timkat, which celebrates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. The festival will begin Jan. 19.

A stuntman performs on a "Wall of Death" at the Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati during the annual monthlong Hindu religious fair of Magh Mela in Allahabad, India.

A woman with a red packet, which is used for holding money, poses for a souvenir photo with an employee dressed as a god of fortune outside a shopping mall. Chinese will celebrate the Lunar New Year on Monday.

Rescue workers continue operations around and on the stricken cruise ship Costa Concordia off Giglio Island. Rescuers resumed their search using explosives to blast debris and other obstacles out of their path, Italian coast guard spokesman Filippo Marini said. "We want to take advantage of the good weather to try to make as much progress as possible" in the search for survivors, Marini added.

Scuba divers recover a body from the cruise ship Costa Concordia. Italian media say five bodies have been found aboard the cruise ship capsized off the coast of Tuscany, raising the official death toll to 11.

Mohammad Saber Yaqoti Hussaini Khedri, second from right, the calligrapher of the world's biggest copy of the Koran, turns a page at a ceremony. Hussaini Khedri claims to have completed the writing of the world's biggest copy of Islam's holy book in five years along with his nine students.

Protesting Tibetan activists are arrested outside Hyderabad House as visiting Chinese delegates meet their Indian counterparts to talk about border issues in New Delhi. The activists protested the lack of Tibetan representation in the ongoing border talks between India and China in New Delhi.

Indian roosters engage in a mock fight by their owners before the start of rooster fights. Reports state that more than 2,000 roosters take part in the annual five-day rooster fights as part of the Pongal celebrations.

Mourners pass by the flag-draped casket of former South Dakota Gov. Bill Janklow as his body lies in state at the Capitol rotunda. Janklow, 72, died Thursday after a months-long battle with brain cancer.

An Egyptian protester with his his hands chained chants slogans as another holds hanging effigies representing ousted President Hosni Mubarak, his sons Alaa and Gamal and former Interior Minister Habib al-Adli and others from his regime outside the police academy on the outskirts of the city.

A worker inspects a dragon decoration made with LED lights at the Fo Guang Shan Dong Zen Temple in Jenjarom, about 30 miles southwest of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Monday. This year's Lunar New Year, the year of the dragon, falls on Jan. 23.

People gather at sunrise at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Monday for a ceremony to mark the legacy of the civil rights leader. The Washington Monument can be seen in the background.

Kashmiri students have a snowball fight in Srinagar on Monday. A cold wave tightened its grip in Jammu and Kashmir, with most places in the state recording sub-zero temperatures. The icy temperatures have frozen many bodies of water as well as drinking water taps. An avalanche warning has also been issued in some snow-bound hilly areas.

The Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis sits at the edge of ice about 12 miles from Mawson's Hut in Antarctica. The area, named for the Australian explorer who landed there a century ago, hadn't been enterered in more than a year

A bull runs through a crowd with a bullfighter during the bull-taming festival of Jallikattu in Palamedu village, roughly 300 miles south of Chennai, India. The bulls are freed one by one from a corner and the bullfighter has to catch the bull and run with it for a distance to claim a prize. Thousands of people attend the festival.

Nicole Ruprecht of Austria performs with the hoop during a round to qualify in rhythmic gymnastics for the 2012 Olympics in London. The qualifier was part of the London Prepares series of test events at the North Greenwich Arena on Monday.

The damaged Costa Concordia cruise ship can be seen at night near the shore of Giglio. Pier Luigi Foschi, head of the Costa Crociere line, said the company had commissioned several firms to look at the best way to salvage the vessel. The ship ran aground Friday night, creating a large gash in its hull. So far, six people have died in the accident.

Lebanese rescue workers remove a body from a collapsed building in Beirut's Ashrafieh neighbouhood on Monday. At least 13 people were killed and 20 others were feared trapped in the rubble, Lebanese officials said.

1 Comment

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By: monahi402

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